Feb. 1, 2017
VIDEO: Boston College National Signing Day Show: http://www.bceagles.com/a2a14b05-f6ed-48ef-80e5-f497dae94d06
VIDEO: Steve Addazio National Signing Day News Conference: http://www.bceagles.com/343130ff-36fb-45ef-86d7-c1a07879de99
Boston College National Signing Day Central Page: http://www.bceagles.com/news/2017/1/31/football-2017-national-signing-day.aspx
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Boston College football announced its 2017 recruiting class Wednesday on National Signing Day. A total of 20 student-athletes signed National Letters of Intent to continue their academic and athletic careers at Boston College.
Head coach Steve Addazio welcomed a group that featured four student-athletes from New Jersey, three from New York and Connecticut, two from California, Massachusetts and New Hampshire along with one player each from Alabama, Indiana, Maryland and Ohio.
“We are excited about the potential of the class,” said Addazio. “The ’17 class is a class that really fits our needs and I think really fits our culture at Boston College.”
Patrick Brown
Tight End
6-5, 230
Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
Cathedral Catholic High School
Two-year starter at tight end for head coach Sean Doyle at Cathedral Catholic High School … teammates with Boston College sophomore defensive tackle Ray Smith and fellow signee Tate Haynes at Cathedral Catholic … part of two state I-AA championship teams … captain as a senior on a team that finished 15-0 … 20 receptions for 384 yards his senior season … 46 pancake blocks … 11 receptions for 159 yards and a touchdown during his junior year for the Dons … team won the CIF division championship.
AJ Dillon
Running Back
6-0, 240
New London, Conn.
Lawrence Academy
Standout running back for head coach Paul Zukauskas at Lawrence Academy in Massachusetts … rated the No. 1 player in Massachusetts and the nation’s No. 20 running back according to Rivals.com … rated as the No. 2 player in Massachusetts and the nation’s 38th best running back according to ESPN … listed as the 39th-best running back in the nation, the top running back in Massachusetts and the fourth-best running back in the East by Scout.com … 2015 NEPSAC Class B Co-Player of the Year … totaled 12 touchdowns and rushed for over 600 yards in Lawrence Academy’s first four games his senior season before a season-ending leg injury … rushed for 297 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Spartans to a win over Milton Academy the week prior to his injury … rushed for 1,887 yards and 26 touchdowns as a junior … averaged 10.9 yards per carry during his junior season … led Lawrence Academy to the ISL and Wayne Sanborn titles in 2015.
Nathaniel Emer
Defensive Line
6-5, 250
Marilla, N.Y.
Iroquois High School
Defensive lineman for head coach Keith Marshall at Iroquois High School … led the Chiefs with 75 tackles, 17 tackles-for-loss, 8.5 sacks, 16 quarterback pressures, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and seven pass breakups as a senior … Class A South Lineman of the Year as a junior … two-way player who played on the offensive and defensive line … 2015 All-Football Weekly first-team selection on defense and second-team pick on offense … 2016 Trench Trophy recipient, given to the top lineman … NYSSWA Class A first team honors as a senior … All-Western New York first team selection as a senior … Section VI most outstanding lineman in 2016 … two-time team captain … 2016 Buffalo Bills Alumni Outstanding defensive lineman award winner.
Tate Haynes
Quarterback/Defensive Back
6-1, 180
San Diego, Calif.
Cathedral Catholic High School
Played quarterback for head coach Sean Doyle at Cathedral Catholic … one of two signees from Cathedral Catholic (Patrick Brown) in the 2017 recruiting class and will join former teammate Ray Smith at Boston College … rated the No. 48 dual-threat quarterback in the nation by ESPN … passed for 1,981 yards as a senior with 22 touchdowns and just five interceptions … also ran for 692 yards and seven touchdowns … led high school to a pair of state championships … threw for 321 yards and three touchdowns in the state championship game leading the Dons to a 38-35 win over St. Mary’s … finalist for the 2016 Silver Pigskin Player of the Year … Union-Tribune December Player of the Month … all-league first team performer … All-CIF first team selection … son of NFL Hall of Fame defensive back Mike Haynes, who played 14 seasons for the Raiders and Patriots and totaled 46 interceptions.
Noah Jordan-Williams
Wide Receiver
6-1, 200
Cicero, N.Y.
Christian Brothers Academy
Played wide receiver for head coach Casey Brown at Christian Brothers Academy … rated the No. 10 player in New York by ESPN … 18 receptions for 525 yards and eight touchdowns as a senior … finished junior campaign with 19 receptions for 296 yards and three scores … two-time Class AA all-state selection, including first-team honors as a senior … 2015 All-Central New York performer … helped guide team to the Section III championship his senior season … USA Today all-state second team honoree … two-time all-Central New York first team selection.
Travis Levy
Running Back
5-11, 190
Olney, Md.
Sherwood High School
Four-year starter for head coach Chris Grier at Sherwood High School … lined up at running back, wide receiver, outside linebacker and safety during his prep career … named the Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year after leading Sherwood to a 10-1 record and rushing for 1,809 yards and 29 touchdowns as a senior … Washington PostAll-Met first team accolades as a senior … rated as the second-best running back in Maryland and the fifth-best running back in the East according to Scout.com … listed as the No. 41 running back nationally according to Scout.com … ranked the 16th-best prospect in Maryland and the No. 42 running back in the country by Rivals.com … finished his junior season with 1,420 rushing yards and 23 touchdowns to help guide Sherwood to the postseason … ended his prep career with over 5,000 yards from scrimmage and 76 touchdowns … finished his senior season with three games over 200 yards rushing, including a season-high 297 yards on just 10 carries in a 64-8 win over Kennedy … rushed for a season-best six touchdowns in the win over Kennedy … rushed for 218 yards and four touchdowns as a junior in the 50-20 win over Springbrook … all-around athlete who also played two years of basketball at Sherwood and ran track during his junior year.
CJ Lewis
Athlete
6-4, 200
Hamden, Conn.
Cheshire Academy
One of the nation’s top-ranked dual-threat quarterbacks for head coach Drew Dykeman at Cheshire Academy … was recruited as an athlete to Boston College … No. 7 prospect in Connecticut according to Rivals.com … rated the No. 24 dual-threat quarterback nationally by Rivals.com … fifth-ranked player in the Nutmeg State according to ESPN and the nation’s No. 16 dual-threat quarterback … rated the top quarterback in Connecticut by Scout.com and the No. 10 quarterback in the East by Scout.com … threw for 1,350 yards and 20 touchdowns as a senior … also rushed for five touchdowns and recorded three interceptions on defense … his team won the 2016 NEPSAC Bowl championship.
Alec Lindstrom
Offensive Line
6-4, 240
Dudley, Mass.
Shepherd Hill Regional High School
Two-way lineman for his father, head coach Chris Lindstrom, Sr. at Shepherd Hill Regional High School … his brother Chris has started the last two seasons on the Boston College offensive line … his father played at Boston University and in the NFL … USA Today All-Massachusetts first team all-state selection on the offensive line … Telegram & Gazette Super Team selection as a junior after helping pave the way for a Rams’ offense that averaged nearly 270 yards per game and 28.5 points per game …SuiteSports first team all-state performer as a senior … key cog in an offensive line that helped the Rams average 7.6 yards per carry and rush for over 3,300 yards his senior season.
Hunter Long
Tight End
6-5, 230
Exeter, N.H.
Deerfield Academy
Rangy tight end who played for head coach Brian Barbato at Deerfield Academy … totaled 30 receptions for 508 yards and two touchdowns on offense … also contributed seven sacks as a defensive lineman … rated the No. 4 player in Massachusetts by Rivals.com … rated the No. 49 tight end nationally by Scout.com … Scout.com No. 1 tight end in Massachusetts and the fourth-best tight end prospect in the East by Scout.com … USA Today all-state second team selection … earned All-SNE second team accolades and was a two-time all-conference pick.
Isaiah McDuffie
Linebacker
6-2, 200
Buffalo, N.Y.
Bennett High School
Two-way performer at linebacker and running back for head coach Stephenson McDuffie at Bennett High School … finished senior season with 111 tackles, seven tackles-for-loss, three sacks, five forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and one interception … also rushed for 1,531 yards and 21 touchdowns on offense … two-time USA Today New York first team all-state selection … three-time All-Western New York performer … led team to the 2016 Section VI Class A championship … Buffalo News Class A MVP and Player of the Year in 2016 … USA Today New York Defensive Player of the Year as a junior … rated the No. 4 prospect in New York by Rivals.com … 2016 Connolly Cup Award recipient … 12th-ranked prospect in New York and the No. 88 linebacker prospect nationally by ESPN … rated as the No. 67 outside linebacker in the nation according to Scout.com … listed as the No. 2 outside linebacker prospect in New York and the ninth-best in the East by Scout.com … three-time captain in high school … owns school records for single-season tackles (161), single-game tackles (29), career touchdowns (70) and career rushing yards (5,529).
Drew McQuarrie
Tight End
6-6, 225
Weare, N.H.
John Stark High School
Quarterback in high school for head coach Rod McQuarrie at John Stark … will convert to tight end at Boston College … USA Today New Hampshire all-state second team selection … threw for 1,769 yards and 22 touchdowns as a senior for the Generals … also added eight rushing touchdowns … top-ranked athlete in the state of New Hampshire and the 75th nationally according to ESPN … Concord Monitor Fall Male Athlete of the Year … earned all-state accolades in lacrosse as a junior … 2015 Eagle-Tribune All-New Hampshire … team MVP as a senior … also played basketball and was a two-time lacrosse captain in high school.
Jahmin Muse
Defensive Back
6-2, 195
Elizabeth, N.J.
Elizabeth High School
Played wide receiver, safety and linebacker for head coach Jamil Jackson at Elizabeth High School … NJ.com second team all-state on offense … totaled 620 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns, 114 passing yards and two passing touchdowns and totaled one receiving touchdown … three interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown …. scored three touchdowns on kickoff returns and tallied one punt return for a touchdown his senior season … rated as the No. 2 athlete in New Jersey according to Scout.com … listed as the No. 69 athlete nationally and the sixth-best athlete in the East according to Scout.com … NJ.com All-Group 5 first team selection at wide receiver for the Minutemen … also played basketball at Elizabeth … rated the No. 26 prospect in New Jersey by NJ.com … rated as the No. 4 wide receiver in New Jersey by Rivals.com and the state’s 32nd-best prospect.
E.J. Perry
Quarterback
6-2, 195
Andover, Mass.
Andover High School
Four-year starter at quarterback for his father, head coach E.J. Perry III at Andover High School … two-time Boston Herald All-Scholastic selection and three-time Merrimack Valley Conference All-Star … tied the Massachusetts state record for single-season touchdown passes with 47 as a senior (BC’s Troy Flutie shares the record) … accounted for eight touchdowns (five passing, three rushing) in a 54-48 playoff win over Lexington as a senior … Boston Globe Division 1 Player of the Year as a senior …Boston Globe All-Scholastic selection as a junior … tossed seven touchdowns in his final high school game in a 49-20 win over North Andover … SuiteSports MIAA all-state first team quarterback as a senior … named SuiteSports MIAA Offensive Player of the Year his senior season … led a Golden Warriors’ offense that averaged 42 points per game his senior campaign … 114 career touchdown passes rank second in state history … career total of 8,712 passing yards are second all-time in state history … threw for 3,398 yards and 47 touchdowns as a senior … added 1,006 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground as he led his team to the Division 1 North sectional final … finished his junior year with 2,852 passing yards (189-for-337 passing) with 34 touchdowns … as a junior for a state-record 636 yards and four touchdowns in the playoffs against Central Catholic … earned ESPN Boston all-state accolades his junior season.
Benjamin Petrula
Offensive Line
6-5, 300
Freehold, N.J.
St. Peter’s Prep
Two-year starter on the offensive line for head coach Rich Hansen at St. Peter’s Prep … No. 11 prospect in New Jersey and the No. 1 guard in the state according to ESPN … third-best guard in the Garden State and rated as the nation’s 65th-best guard by Scout.com … rated the eighth-best guard in the East by Scout.com … listed as the No. 26 guard nationally and the No. 14 prospect in New Jersey by Rivals.com … NJ.com first team all-state offensive selection as a senior and second team all-state performer as a junior … NJ.com All-Non Public first team selection following his junior and senior seasons … helped pave the way for a Prep offense that gained nearly 3,000 yards rushing during his senior campaign … rated the No. 11 player in New Jersey by NJ.com … led St. Peter’s Prep to the Non-Public Group 4 state final … joins fellow Maurader Jon Hilliman at Boston College.
TJ Rayam
Defensive Tackle
6-1, 300
Alabaster, Ala.
Thompson High School (Peddie School)
Defensive tackle who spent last year at the Peddie School in New Jersey for head coach Chris Malleo … originally signed with UMass after senior season at Thompson High School in Alabama, but decided to spend the year at Peddie School … earned All-Prep A honors at Peddie School in 2016 … 2015 ASWA all-state second team selection … 2014 ASWA all-state first-team honoree … won the Alabama Class 7A heavyweight state championship in wrestling in 2015 … father Thomas played at Alabama and spent time in the NFL and CFL.
Brandon Sebastian
Defensive Back
6-1, 185
West Haven, Conn.
Cheshire Academy
Two-way standout for head coach Drew Dykeman at Cheshire Academy … joins fellow teammate C.J. Lewis in the signing class for the Eagles … rushed for 501 yards and six touchdowns on offense for the Fighting Cats … 49 tackles and three interceptions on defense … ranked the No. 1 cornerback in Connecticut, the fourth-best corner in the East and the 45th-best nationally by Scout.com … rated the No. 5 player in the Nutmeg State by Rivals.com and the nation’s 69th-best athlete by Rivals.com … No. 6 prospect in Connecticut by ESPN and the nation’s 48th-best cornerback … USA Today Connecticut first team all-state selection … led team to the NEPSAC Bowl Championship.
Ben Stewart
Defensive Back
5-11, 205
Indianapolis, Ind.
Cathedral High School
Defensive back for head coach Rick Streiff at Cathedral High School … finished senior season with 69 tackles, one interception, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble for the Irish … three-time Associated Press all-state selection … earned team defensive MVP honors three times during his prep career … three-time All-Indianapolis selection and IFCA all-state pick … two-time academic all-state performer … USA Today all-state first team pick as a junior and senior … selected to the Blue-Grey All-America game … rated the No. 2 safety in Indiana and the 42nd-best safety nationally by Scout.com … listed as the Midwest’s seventh-best safety as well by Scout.com … 11th-best prospect in Indiana by ESPN and the nation’s 71st-ranked safety … named the Indianapolis Defensive Player of the Year as a senior … captain of both the football and wrestling teams.
Caleb Stoneburner
Wide Receiver
6-3, 195
Dublin, Ohio
Dublin Coffman High School
Standout wide receiver for head coach Mark Crabtree at Dublin Coffman High School … totaled 47 receptions for 787 yards and 10 touchdowns as a senior for the Shamrocks … 2016 Columbus Dispatch All-Metro team … Associated Press All-Ohio first team … all-district and all-league performer … ThisWeekNews Super 25 honorable mention selection … No. 34 prospect in the state of Ohio according to ESPN … rated the No. 7 wide receiver in Ohio and the 23rd-best wide out in the Midwest according to Scout.com … No. 38 prospect in Ohio according to Rivals.com.
Paul Theobald Jr.
Linebacker
6-2, 200
Caldwell, N.J.
Seton Hall Prep
Three-year starter at linebacker for head coach Vito Campanile at Seton Hall Prep … also played fullback and tight end for the Pirates … NJ.com first team all-state on defense as a junior and a senior … one of New Jersey’s top tacklers with 165 stops and also contributed two forced fumbles and a blocked punt … also caught 16 passes for 213 yards and two touchdowns on offense … listed as the top inside linebacker in New Jersey by Scout.com … nationally ranked the 65th-best inside linebacker and the eighth-best inside linebacker in the East by Scout.com … rated the No. 27 prospect in New Jersey by NJ.com and the fourth-best linebacker in the Garden State … listed as the No. 22 prospect in New Jersey by Rivals.com … the Garden State’s third-best linebacker prospect according to Rivals.com.
Marcus Valdez
Defensive End
6-1, 245
Perth Amboy, N.J.
Don Bosco Prep
Played defensive end, defensive tackle and tight end for head coach Greg Toal Sr. at Don Bosco Prep … suffered a season-ending knee injury at the beginning of his senior year for the Ironmen … key part of a Don Bosco team that captured the 2015 NJSIAA Non-Public, Group 4 championship, Bosco’s 12th title in school history … had multiple sacks in the state final win over St. Joseph’s his junior season … listed as the top defensive end in New Jersey by ESPN … rated the No. 19 prospect in New Jersey according to ESPN … also a standout in track and field for the Ironmen, finishing his junior year as one of the top performers in the state in the shot put (fifth) and discus (fourth) … reunites with former high school teammate Tommy Sweeney at Boston College.
Steve Addazio News Conference Transcript
STEVE ADDAZIO: Excited about the potential of the class. The ’17 class is a class that really fits our needs and I think really fits our culture at Boston College. We have three mid-year signees, 20 total, from ten different states, Alabama, California, Connecticut, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio. 15 signees from the five-hour radius. 14 were football captains, five were multi-year football captains, five were multi-sport captains. Eight were from public schools, 12 from private or parochial schools. All kinds of different honors, going from E.J. Perry, Boston Globe’s Division I Player of the Year, Levy was the 2016 Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year, Ben Stewart was the Indy Star Defensive Player of the Year, McQuarrie was the Concord Fall Male Athlete of the Year, Emer was the 2016 Trench Trophy award winner, which was the top lineman, McDuffie was the 2016 Buffalo News Player of the Year. All-American games. Noah Jordan-Williams in the Army All-American game. Stewart in the Blue-Grey All-American game, Stewart in the USA Football 19u team.
Our deal, our philosophy is identification, evaluation, recruiting and closing. We are looking for toughness, character, love of the game, passion, accountability and great work ethic. That’s kind of how we go about this thing, all right. We have our needs, and then we’re looking for the best players that we feel are going to meet those needs and fit the culture that we have and that we need to have at Boston College, okay, and it’s really been that way forever, and that hasn’t really changed, okay.
Talking about our class, let’s start out with AJ Dillon. He’s a difference maker. AJ Dillon is a game changer. He’s one of the very best players in America, maybe one of the very best players to be recruited in the history of Boston College. He’s the No. 1 rated player in New England. He is coached by Paul Zukauskas, who is a former BC captain, great player, 7th round draft pick of the Cleveland Browns. Paul has developed a great program there, and AJ is a great representative of their high school and will be an impact player here.
I think AJ is one of those guys that has the ability to captivate Boston, which is an unbelievable sports city. His personality, his ability, his charisma I think gives him a tremendous platform for his future here at Boston College. Really couldn’t be happier about AJ and what he brings to the table with his ability and who he is as a person and his family.
Travis Levy from Sherwood, Maryland, was a mid-year enrollee, running back, fantastic player, great work ethic, great attitude here right now working.
E.J. Perry, also mid-year, quarterback from Andover, comes from a football family, a sports family. Uncles are coaching with the Texans, one was with Princeton, now a head coach here locally. Dad is the head coach. Football is in their blood. He’s an unbelievable competitor. You talk about it; you saw it all over him. He throws the ball extremely well. He’s a real gym rat, football guy.
CJ Lewis, wide receiver, athlete from Cheshire Academy, played for Dave Dykeman, coming here along with his teammate, Brandon Sebastian, we’ll talk about in a second. Just great athleticism. You’re talking about a big, tall, long, fast, great ball skills, great athlete, 6’4″ guy, reminds me a lot of Mike Williams from Clemson. I mean, that kind of potential. You know, size at that position, I think is a critical, critical deal. Excited about him.
Noah Jordan-Williams, wide receiver from Christian Brothers. Noah is a big, physical wide receiver, extremely athletic. He has those real big strong hands. Coach Belichick talks about get open and catch the football. That guy is going to catch the football. Really, really tremendous athlete, teammate of John Phillips who is on our team right now.
Caleb Stoneburner, wide receiver from Dublin, Ohio. He’s another big receiver. He’s a 6’4″ guy that’s a 4-4 guy. Vertical threat. Great athlete. Great hands. Go up and catch the ball in a crowd. So we’re talking about big, physical, tall receivers, and we felt we need to add that to our team. These are extraordinary guys. We couldn’t be more thrilled about them.
Patrick Brown, tight end from Cathedral Catholic, along Tate Haynes, who we’ll speak about in a minute, along with Ray Smith, who came from Cathedral Catholic in California. This is a guy who was on a state champion high school football team. He’s a great athlete. Tremendous ball skills, great blocker. Interesting thing about him is he’s also a scratch golfer. Talks a little bit about his eye-hand coordination. That’s really — you know, as I get older and I try to learn how to play golf, I appreciate the fine motor skills it takes to play golf. This guy has got that, as well as being a dominant blocker on film as well as being a ball catcher on a great program. We’re excited about him.
Hunter Long from Deerfield Academy. Hunter was the guy we had in camp. Another great athlete. Tremendous vertical leap, great 40 speed, just really good route runner, really developed physically over the course of the last year, and we think we’ve got a real great player here that is very athletic tight end. He and Patrick Brown are two really athletic guys now. We’re excited about that.
Drew McQuarrie from John Stark High School in New Hampshire was a high school quarterback. He was at camp, as well. Big, another big, physical guy who played high school quarterback, and is a really good basketball player. Those are real athletes. He’s going to be playing tight end. He had great ball skills in camp. He’s going to grow into being just a big man, and we really liked his athleticism and his mind-set.
Alec Lindstrom is here mid-year. Alec, the brother, Chris, I mean, he is going to play center for us. Just like Chris, going to come out of high school undersized, not going to be on a Division I radar because of that and is going to end up being a great player. We had him in camp. He was dominant in camp on both sides of the ball, dominant. So he’s going to gain in weight, he’s going to go from 240 to 260 to 280 to 300 and be just like Chris from the standpoint he’s going to end up having the size.
But his tenacity, his aggressiveness and his physicalness is remarkable, it really is. That’s one of the guys truly under the radar that will become one hell of a player here, and that’s a fact.
Ben Petrula, offensive line from St. Peter’s Prep. This is a really, really outstanding high school football player. You know, a highly-regarded, rated player, who is big and physical. You know, I mean, unbelievable. He came to Boston College to our camp. He’s a four-year starter at St. Peter’s and has played against elite competition. This guy is a mountain of a guy and he’s a heck of a player. He’s an elite guy coming in here right now from an elite program and we have very, very high expectations on him.
Nate Emer, defensive tackle from Iroquois, New York. Nate attended our camp, as well. He’s a 6’5″, 260-pound guy who you can just see is a raw-bone guy who is going to fill out and become a big man. He’s another guy a little bit under the radar that he’s got a great motor and a great toughness to him. We feel great about Nate and his potential and where he’s going to grow to be.
TJ Rayam, defensive tackle and nose guard, out of the Peddie School. He’s originally from Alabama; Alabaster, Alabama. He’s a 300-pound guy, and he’s an athlete. He’s a wrestler, and he can move and he’s powerful. He uses his hands well and it helps us interiorly inside, which is one of the things we were really looking for as we were filling out this class.
We really kind of said to ourselves, you know what, we need to make sure we have enough guys interiorly on defense. And so, you know, while we’ve been recruiting him for quite some time, we really wanted to add him into the fold and make a few changes here, because we felt like we needed to have more depth interiorly.
Marcus Valdez from Don Bosco Prep. He’s a teammate of Tom Sweeney’s. Obviously, we’ve had a lot Bosco guys and will continue to. Greg Toal was his coach. Greg’s sons played here, and this is a guy, he got injured during the season. He would have blown up. He’s a heck of a player. Great motor, great leverage guy, great power, real good jump off the ball. As he gets healthy again will become a hell of a player for us and we’re excited about Marcus.
Isaiah McDuffie, the linebacker from Bennett, New York, from Buffalo, coached by his dad. He’s a sam backer, excellent speed, excellent agility. Was a great running back in high school. Rushed for over 1,600 yards. He is a big, fast, physical athlete, and he’s a hell of a player. I think he’s another guy that has a chance to be an impact player and really exceptional athlete, and we’re really excited about Isaiah.
Paul Theobald, linebacker from Seton Hall Prep, attended the same high school as Connor Wujciak. He led their defense. Very instinctive guy. Physical guy. Anthony Campanile’s brother, Vito, coached him. Just a really good football player. He’s going to come up here and can move well, tough, gets to the ball, great vision. Love him.
Brandon Sebastian, defensive back from Cheshire Academy, one of the best athletes in the country. And that’s a fact. That’s not just some statement I’m making right now. We had him in camp. His measurables in camp were completely off the chart. Speed, movement, vertical ability, off the chart. Okay, we’re talking about a 4-3 guy, talking about a 38-vertical guy. This guy can go now, okay. Really, really athletic guy from west haven Connecticut, played at Cheshire Academy, as did CJ Lewis.
Between Stewart we talked about earlier from Cathedral, we’ve had a long-standing relationship there. He’s a multi-sport performer, All-State football player, a guy who might be as tough as anybody I’ve seen ever coming out of high school. He’s a wrestler and going to compete for the state title. I’ve watched some of his videos and wrestling, and you would not want your son competing against you on the wrestling mats, I’m telling you. He’s unbelievable. I just think he has a chance to be just a phenomenal player. His maturity, his mind-set is different than your average high school player, okay. Fantastic.
So all in all, as I said, I think we went out through our camp, through evaluation, found guys that we feel are going to upgrade our football team. We found guys that we feel are guys that will compete at a high level and they will most importantly, they are future BC men. And that’s important here, because here, it’s about being a really good football player and it’s about being a really good teammate and it’s about respecting and wanting a great education, and leaving here with a degree playing a high-level football and having the ability to go out and make a difference in the world.
So as we go on the road and recruit, we are really looking for a select group of guys. And it’s that balancing act with all those things I just talked about together, not just on one side of the thing, okay. And yet, we have to compete in what we all know this year is the best league in college football, and we play in that toughest division. But we are never going to compromise the values of Boston College to do that. We are going to find that blend, bring them in, develop, grow, much like we have done in the past here, with the likes of Matt Ryan, who is a three-star, Jamie Silva was a two-star, B.J. Raji, Ron Brace, Brian Toal was one of the highest-star players ever to come here.
The history of Boston College has been that of identification, evaluation, and development. That’s been our history and it starts with toughness, love of the game, fitting the BC culture, respecting your education, and wanting an elite education and wanting to be a part of a team that’s a real team with a bunch of guys that are like minded, and I think we have accomplished that again and continue to build our roster and excited about the future of where we’re headed. And these young players are going to represent our program and our university in an elite way.
Any questions.
Q. Dillon, is that the inside/outside —
STEVE ADDAZIO: AJ has got, I mean, elite size and speed, right. He’s unique. There’s not a lot of guys like AJ in the country now. I mean, that’s how talented he is. You’re talking about a 6’1″, 245-pound guy with elite speed and explosive capability. Okay. Travis is not that size right now, but Travis is not small. He’s going to be a 220-pound back and he’s got decent height. I’d say, you know, he’s a 5’11” guy, every bit of that, every bit of that.
So they are both big backs. Just that AJ is by standard, in college football, I mean, he’s elite size and speed. Anybody in the country is looking for that kind of size and speed now. He’s hard to come by. Hard to come by.
Q. Are we talking Williams’ potential with this kid?
STEVE ADDAZIO: Oh, yeah.
Q. Comparable?
STEVE ADDAZIO: I mean, when he walks in the room — when he walks in the room, that’s what you’re going to say. I mean, like, you know, put together now. Boom. He was a highly, highly, highly-recruited guy nationally, okay. From the beginning to the bitter end. But this is a guy that’s got a focus and a mind-set and this is a BC man. This is a guy that understands — a little bit like how we used to talk about Andre at the end. He understood what it meant to be at Boston College and how much he respected his academics.
AJ is this kind of guy. He’s very mature, very mature, and really wanted to be in an offense that was an opportunity for him to be able to be that big back, you know, as opposed to something different, right. And has a passion for Boston and the northeast, you know. That’s all legit, is what I’m telling you, really cool, you know. Because I think that’s so important, you know, and then that BC degree and that experience is very, very important to him, okay.
So that’s a very unique kind of deal right there with that kind of, you know, ability level.
Q. With E.J., how long was he on your radar for and what do you think he can contribute?
STEVE ADDAZIO: Well, it’s hard to tell next season but getting here mid-year certainly gives you a great advantage. He is a talented guy. I mean, he’s talented, and he’s got a lot — I called him a gym rat, in a complimentary way. I watched him — you watch that guy play basketball. I watched him practice basketball. His competitive nature is very high. He can spin it and he can throw it and he’s athletic. Being here mid semester is going to give him a great jump on that, and I’ll have a much better feel as we get into spring football — I can’t see him with a football in his hand now, but I think based on our evaluation, from camp, and watching him in high school football and high school basketball, we have a very high evaluation of him.
Q. Catholic here, having him right here — what is it about that school? Did you get a beat on them when you were looking?
STEVE ADDAZIO: Yes, I think what happens is 30 percent of our population of BC is a California population. Here is a school that is a Jesuit school and here is an elite program in the state of California. And, you know, Ray coming in here, Ray was a little bit of an under-the-radar kind of guy, and he’s an impact player. He’s really going to be really good. I mean, everybody in the country wishes they had Ray Smith.
And then you have an opportunity to go back into his high school and recruit two really good football players. I mean, Tate Haynes, Tate Haynes — did I not mention Tate earlier?
Q. No, you did I think. You rolled over him.
STEVE ADDAZIO: Let me go back on that. Let’s talk about Tate Haynes for a second. Tate Haynes is an elite athlete. Tate Haynes was the starting quarterback, okay, of their team that won the state championship. Tate Haynes is — like I said Brandon Sebastian is an elite athlete, Tate Haynes is a freak athlete. He’s a guy that we are bringing in here to look at the quarterback, okay, because he’s got it. And we are also bringing him in here as an athlete. Both his dad was an All-Pro player for the Patriots and then for the Oakland Raiders. We’re talking about with Tate Haynes, we’re talking about a guy who is maybe one of the best athletes in the top two of our class to come in here now.
So, you know, I think what happens sometimes is you get a guy, a guy, you say, will he be a quarterback, will he not be a quarterback and you start trying to fit him in position. But he’s a marquee prospect coming out of high school, and he’ll have a great career here. And he’s from that same high school.
So you’ve got Tate, you’ve got Pat, and then you’ve got Ray. And so you have like a little bit of a pipeline in there now, which when you’re going that far away from home helps you because they know guys from home, and those are really important things.
But the right kind of fit, you know, the fit from high school to college. It’s a like-minded mission of the schools. So these are elite players and just really excited about all three of them; one that we have, two that are coming. But I really want to emphasize for you guys, I really want to emphasize Tate Haynes. I saved that special. What happens is those guys were the last guys that we got their letters because of the time difference. So I had gone in earlier in a press conference and I couldn’t speak about Patrick Brown and I couldn’t speak about Tate Haynes because I had not had their letter yet because of the timing, time difference.
But I really want to emphasize that for you here now because I have a chance to speak about those guys. We are so excited about that connection. That connection right there, that pipeline right there is a heck of a pipeline, and we want to establish more inroads through the State of California.
Q. Tate is listed as a corner on here. Quarterback and corner —
STEVE ADDAZIO: Yeah, no, we’re going to bring him in as a quarterback, but we have had a lot of conversation about he’s an elite corner. I mean, he’s a natural corner. But he’s a leader as a quarterback. He’s got a lot of it, you know what I mean. He’s one of those guys that has a lot of stick. He led his team to the state championship, you know. You can tell that he’s got that about him.
When you have a chance to get around these kinds of guys like that, I love those kinds of players, man, I just love them. It speaks volumes of who they are, because your best athletes usually go to that position in high school.
Q. Mike is a key position for you guys — can take under his wing as a side guy?
STEVE ADDAZIO: Absolutely. He’s got all those characteristics, good size, good range, can run, loves football, really like him a lot, yeah.
Q. Guys that played quarterback in high school, why do you see them at wide receiver and tight end?
STEVE ADDAZIO: Well, that’s a good question. You know, we just felt that body type, skill set, they are difference makers potentially at those positions.
You know, CJ really, I mean, like I said, I gave him a pretty high comparison there because I really feel that way. When we had him in camp, he worked out a little bit for us at receiver, so we had a chance to evaluate that. It wasn’t just a projection. You know, like Tate Haynes, we had Tate in camp and CJ in camp and we had Drew in camp. We had those guys in camp so we had a chance to evaluate them at that position, as opposed to just project them and we put them there. Both those guys exhibited unbelievable great skill sets for those positions.
Like I said, I’m into the quarterback — when I see quarterbacks — some quarterbacks you say, you know they are quarterbacks and some they are a this or a this or a this, but you know they are one of the best athletes in their program and they usually have a lot of football savvy to them. And I always felt like that was a position that when you have a winner and a leader there, they are going to play somewhere for you now. They can play somewhere.
Q. Do you see any guys making a real impact on offense or defense?
STEVE ADDAZIO: Yeah, I mean, I think guys like AJ, we talked about. You know, we talked about Isaiah. Honestly, it’s a good question you ask me, because when you make me stop like that, and pause, it’s because I think there’s a fair amount of them. And, I mean, I almost don’t want to start going down the list because then you start saying — I think there’s a fair amount of these guys and you guys been around me long enough, I don’t usually go down that path this easy, you know what I’m saying.
But I think there’s a fair amount of these guys. You’ve got these big receivers, and then they can fly, you know. You’ve got the tight ends but we have depth at tight end so we have the ability to bring them along, but you know, you take a guy like Hunter Long, he’s a year-older guy. He’s Deerfield Academy. He’s a year older.
And Ben Petrula is a mountain of a man. I said that to you already. He’s got great work ethic. You watch his film. TJ Rayam is a 300-pound wrestler interiorly there. Tate Haynes is an elite athlete and Tate is an elite athlete.
You know what I did, as I started rambling here, one of the things, I don’t know why I did that, one of the guys I haven’t talked about — see, I don’t know why I just did that. I must have got my eyes caught on something here. I haven’t mentioned Jahmin Muse. Jahmin, what an athlete. I mean, I love this kid, guys. I mean, I want you to know that. I love him. He is a two-time high school captain, played every position in high school, kickoff, punt. He can play for us right away. I mean, he’s from Elizabeth. I love the kid. I love his family. I love his support system around him. He is a big, big, physical athlete. Jahmin is an athlete.
So there’s a guy — I talked about Tate, I talked about Jahmin those are guys that can — Brandon Sebastian is an athlete. Ben Stewart is an elite competitor. When you watch him wrestle, how can you not think he might be able to do something for you. Boy, I can’t believe — as I went through, as I said, my eyes jumped sometimes. You know what I was doing? I was skipping ahead. Jahmin, what a prospect, what a player. I mean, we’re sky-high over him.
So, yeah, as I go through this answer, talking about these guys, there are some guys in here that can flat play. Can they come in and make impact? Yes, yes, yes, they can. And you never know, as we’ve seen in the past, all of a sudden you had injuries and you had issues and these guys come in and play. I mean, that won’t change, you know.
Q. I imagine you were pretty sold on AJ before the injury. How does that impact anything going into next season?
STEVE ADDAZIO: No, he just had some sort of light leg injury. That was nothing. Everybody in the country is after that guy. And rightfully so. That was the premier player in the northeast. So that’s a good day for the Eagles.
Q. I know rankings aren’t really a big deal to you, but you jumped up 20 spots from last year in terms of nationally, but do you see any difference in your strategy?
STEVE ADDAZIO: I mean, you guys know that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Rankings are based off of star rankings. You know, sometimes on, sometimes off. What we try to do is go after the guys that we have in camp a lot and then we have a great knowledge about and that fit our culture.
You know, it’s hard to — it’s hard to — just paper-cutted myself.
It’s hard to really get overly hung up on that stuff. Not to say that it’s not a means of measurement, but we feel great about our guys, and I think the proof is in the pudding four years from now. You know, I think even to a guy who as recently as John Johnson, who comes out of here, who is an unheralded guy. I took the job here, he was being recruited here, and that guy right there, I mean, he has turned every eye there is at Senior Bowl. Great example of a really non-rated guy that comes through the program, doesn’t even get a chance to red-shirt. Doesn’t even get a chance to red-shirt. Truman Gutapfel, another example of a guy you look at. You know what I’m saying? So how do you know, you know?
And in the northeast, in the northeast, traditionally, this year, traditionally, there’s not a lot of high-ranked guys. So the base of our recruiting is going to come within a five-hour radius and really the northeast, New England.
It’s just the nature of the deal. Like you take a guy like between Petrula, he decided not to go to any of those combines, do any of that stuff. He committed early. That guy, he’s an elite player. So, you know, not to say that there aren’t some highly ranked guys that deserve to be highly, sure. But that’s how the rankings come about, what’s perceived. We didn’t take a class of 25, so we don’t junior college recruit. We get the guys that are right for Boston College and right for our program, and I think we put a lot of evaluation, a lot of research in them, and feel great about them. I think when we look back at them, we have to evaluate them based on what they did earlier in their career.
I think someone told me today that in the Super Bowl, there’s like — I’ll probably be wrong. But I thought I heard there’s something like three or four high-star rated guys playing, high-star guys coming out of high school that are playing the Super Bowl on Sunday. I mean, now, it doesn’t mean that, you know, it is a means of measurement, and you know, but let’s — let’s see. We’ll see. We’ll see.
BC’s history has proven to be what I’m saying. Because we have put an awful lot of guys in the NFL at Boston College over the years and have had an awful lot of meaningful careers and there was not — I would challenge to find out, I mean, maybe Greg Toal or Brian Toal might have been a five-star. Beyond that, year after year after year, you’re not going to find too many and a very small handful, a small amount of four-stars. So I would say that we are a great proving ground for that.
Q. In that vein, the fact that Landry is coming back, does that send a message to the kids about what you were just saying?
STEVE ADDAZIO: Yeah, I think Harold — I think Harold, what you saw by Harold coming back here is a guy that, No. 1, wants to finish what he started with his teammates, which I think speaks to the team.
No. 2, Harold wants to get his degree. That’s very important to him, his Boston College degree, which speaks volumes.
No. 3, I think Harold feels that he has a position coach that’s an elite status coach, okay, Coach Pasqualoni, and with another great year of work, and I think he believes in the fact that I’m going to help him and we’re going to really make sure that we help in that development to have a chance to become a first-round pick.
So for all of those reasons, and I think it shows you the confidence level in what he feels that he can do for this program and what this program can do for him, and then the other guys in the program see that. And I think recruits see that, because, you know, I mean, he’s a highly-recognizable name right now. He led America in sacks. He’s a young guy. He didn’t red-shirt. He truly is a young guy. He’s like a 19-, 20-year-old guy. He’s got room for real legitimate development. I’m very proud of his decision-making and very proud of the way he went about this, and I think it will speak volumes for his future.
Q. When AJ was committed to Michigan, there was word that he might be playing on both sides of the ball as a linebacker, as well. Is there any part of you that maybe wants to test him out?
STEVE ADDAZIO: No. I want him to be what he has a chance to be, as he will be an elite player as a running back, absolutely.
Q. If my math is correct, this will be your fourth recruiting class.
STEVE ADDAZIO: Yeah, I think our third real recruiting class. Obviously when I came in my first year, I honored all the commitments that were here, and really wasn’t much I could do at that point in time. And so this is our third real recruiting class.
Q. The question being, does it feel any better for you, starting to have your full crop of kids, kids you’ve brought into the program?
STEVE ADDAZIO: I think what you feel better about is, I feel great about all of our kids here, whether I recruited them or not. I think what you feel great about is that our roster is balanced out. That’s what is the critical point here. You have balanced out our roster. We don’t have voids in our roster. Some part of it, some parts of it are older than others, but we don’t have the voids; the lack of numbers at positions. And we have a balanced roster, which is the way it should be, okay. And I feel great about, you know, the guys that we have scattered amongst the offense, defense and special teams.
I think a great indicator sometimes is I know everybody equates special teams to the kicker, but there’s a lot of components that go into special teams. We have a lot of guys right now that you’re dying to get into special teams. That tells you what you need to know.
When I first got here, it was like, who was going to play this, who was going to play that. We have raised the speed and the athleticism of our program, dramatically, okay. It doesn’t mean that we didn’t have some elite guys. As a whole, we’ve got a large amount of guys to pick from. Usually in special teams, you’re looking for those linebackers, safety, skilled, speed athletes and we always used to have a smaller pool and we have a big pool, that kind of tells you. So we’ve had a chance to do that, replenish, build and get the right numbers in.
So that’s really what I feel we’ve been able to do, and when I came here, that’s what I knew had to be done. So it’s like how do you know — you can look at a roster and you can project out where the voids are going to be. I mean, you know, when you get involved in a place, do you a roster analysis. You don’t just show up and be-bop in and say, hey. You evaluate everything about a program and a team and a roster, so we knew it would take time to re-recruit the roster.
What we had some success was doing was a couple of fifth-year transplants along the way because we are not going to go the JC route. We were able to do that early and one of the most notable, but one of them being Tyler Murphy at year two at quarterback, which was a critical position. That was a critical deal for us, along with Ian Silberman was a pro player and Matt Patchan was a pro player and Ty-Meer Brown — and I’m going to forget somebody, but some real big, inserts, if you will, in the beginning. Not to say we wouldn’t take advantage of utilizing that again down the road or this year or whatever, but we have a very good nucleus of where we are right now. So I think that’s important. Anybody else? Great.
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